By Dorothy E. KellyCopyright 1998 by Dorothy E. Kelly. All rights reserved.
Photos courtesy of US Army Military History Institute

Shortly after the September 1863 Confederate victory at Chickamauga, Confederate Major
General James Longstreet moved from Chattanooga toward Knoxville with orders to capture or
drive the Federals under Major General Ambrose E. Burnside out of East Tennessee.
Longstreet's cavalry under Major General Joseph Wheeler was ordered to push through Blount
County to claim the heights on the Holston (now Tennessee) River opposite Knoxville.

For
several weeks prior to Longstreet's advance in November of 1863, Blount County played host
to Union cavalry under the command of Brigadier General William P. Sanders. Sanders'
assignment was to guard the Little Tennessee River fords against roving bands of
Confederate cavalry and to notify the Federal authorities of any Confederate advance
through Blount County. Blount County Unionists and Home Guards served as guides and scouts
for the Federal cavalry, collecting information and reporting on Confederate activity in
the area.

While Blount County was primarily Unionist in sentiment, Confederate sympathizers were
still in evidence. On November 12, Sanders reported to Gen. Burnside, in Knoxville, that a
small party of Confederates had attacked his pickets at Maryville. The Rebels had escaped
detection because they were led by a "doctor from Maryville" who brought them in
by the Chilhowee Mountains and, after the Confederates stole a few horses, led them out by
way of Montvale Springs.

Loyal Blount County citizens continued to report Confederate crossings at Motley's and
Niles' Fords, but upon reconnaissance, Federal cavalry usually failed to find anything but
a few Confederate deserters. Sanders also reported from Maryville that there were "a
terrible number of roads leading to this place" (present day maps prove this point)
-- presumably complicating security. These constant reports of elusive Confederates and
fear of rising water in Little River at his back caused Sanders to move his main camp and
wagon train north of Maryville and Little River. The new camp was near the community of
Rockford, a few miles closer to Knoxville. Sanders left only one brigade at Maryville .
This timely move saved the better part of Sanders' cavalry, for on the dark, rainy morning
of November 14, a Rebel whirlwind in the form of Wheeler's Cavalry blew through the camp
of the Eleventh Kentucky Cavalry at Maryville.

Wheeler's orders were to attack the detachment stationed at Maryville and force his way
through to Knoxville. The capture of the heights opposite Knoxville would enable the
Confederates to bombard the Federal works and city, forcing the Federals to evacuate. The
Confederate surprise was complete as Wheeler's Cavalry dashed into the Federal camp,
scattering the Kentuckians in all directions. A number of the fleeing Federals were
wounded in the confusion and eventually 151 of the Kentucky cavalrymen were rounded up.

In Sanders' camp at Rockford, the roar of firearms alerted the Federals to the presence
of the enemy. Sanders had received reports from scouts and civilians warning of a buildup
along the Little Tennessee River, but reports gave no indication that Sanders' 1,500 men
were facing "Fightin' Joe" Wheeler and 4,000 hard-riding Confederate cavalrymen.
The unwitting troops sprang to their saddles without their breakfast and, in a matter of
moments, the First Kentucky and Forty-Fifth Ohio were galloping to the rescue of their
comrades. The Federal troopers were so anxious to reach the field that they neglected to
put out a skirmish line. Wheeler's men, expecting an attack, were prepared for the
onslaught and the charging Federals found themselves fired upon from the front and both
flanks. The fire was too withering to endure. The Federals retreated across Little River
and rallied on the north bank, awaiting Wheeler's charge. Wheeler, however, was unaware of
the size of Sanders' force and failed to follow up on his success.

During the night the Federals retreated toward Knoxville. The Confederate crossing of
Little River next morning was unopposed, but was not completed until almost noon due to
the poor condition of the ford. Once across, Wheeler's men found their advance constantly
checked as they were forced to skirmish with the out-manned, but stubborn, Federal
cavalry. Three miles from Little River the Confederates found their next obstacle -- the
bridge over Stock Creek. Or what was left of it. The bridge over Stock Creek, perched on
the Blount-Knox County line, was partially destroyed and the Creek itself was too deep for
horses to ford. The reinforced Federal cavalry had taken "a strong and elevated"
position overlooking the ford and were prepared to make hot work of the Confederates'
entrance into Knox County. Wheeler dismounted about half his force and crossed the creek
under cover of fire from his artillery. His advance uphill across open fields was hotly
contested by both rifle and cannon fire from the Federals, but Wheeler successfully pushed
back the Federal left wing, forcing them to retreat.

After repairing the bridge, Wheeler crossed over his entire force and engaged Sanders'
troops in a rolling battle up to the heights above Knoxville. Having forced the back door,
Wheeler was in for a disappointment. Instead of finding lightly defended hills, he
discovered impossibly steep slopes on 300-foot ridges, defended by infantry and artillery
as well as cavalry. (These heights would later be crowned by the fortifications of Forts
Higley, Dickerson, and Stanley.) Wheeler exchanged fire with the Yankee batteries, but the
formidable heights and their defense force convinced him that his task was impossible. The
back door had slammed in his face.

Convinced that storming the heights would be too costly in time and manpower, Wheeler
and his cavalry retreated back through Blount County, crossed the Holston , and rejoined
Longstreet on his advance to Knoxville. Wheeler's defeat at Knoxville's back door was even
more important than it would appear, for it was during Wheeler's absence that Longstreet
lost the opportunity to bag Burnside and the major portion of his army at Campbell's
Station, 16 miles south of Knoxville. In the absence of cavalry, the Confederates reached
the vital road junction just 20 minutes after the Federal army which had blocked the road,
thus insuring that Burnside's army would reach the comparative safety of the defenses of
Knoxville.

The dogged determination shown by the outnumbered Federal cavalry in Blount County
foreshadowed the determination of the Federal troops defending Knoxville in the next few
weeks. The outnumbered Federals stubbornly endured the siege of Knoxville and its
culmination at the Battle of Fort Sanders. The approach of 25,000 reinforcements under
General William T. Sherman a few days later concluded all hopes of Confederate
reoccupation of Knoxville. The front door was also closed.

Reproduced with permission granted
theBlountWeb by Dorothy E. Kelly and the Knoxville Civil War Roundtable
April 12, 1999